


Urban Blossoms

by Jodasgreat



Series: Yuuka's Flowers [2]
Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Urban Legends, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:15:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29590578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jodasgreat/pseuds/Jodasgreat
Summary: In the small town in which she lives, the now-orphaned Kazami Yuuka has become the subject of rumors and investigations. All the while, she tries to find out who she really is.
Series: Yuuka's Flowers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2166855
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Peers

**Author's Note:**

> This begins part two of the Scattered Flowers. Please enjoy.

It was around noon, and the middle of lunch break for this class of highschoolers. Thanks to relatively relaxed school policies, some students elected to take their lunch breaks outside to take advantage of the warm weather. Others, such as this particular group of girls, preferred to stay indoors, rearranging their desks to form a makeshift lunch table.

“It’s strange…” One of the girls wondered aloud, leaning back in her chair.

As if to balance her out, the girl sitting across from her leaned into the table. “Huh? What is, you still thinking about that test?”

“No, no, no.” The first girl waved her hand dismissively. “I was just thinking… Kazami hasn’t been here at all the past week…” Upon mentioning that name, she noticed all eyes were on her. “I mean, I haven’t seen her get sick, like, ever!”

“You’re right! It _is_ weird!” The girl next to her shouted. “I thought that was just one of her ‘powers’ or something. I mean, how lame would it be if she caught a cold?”

“All she does with those ‘powers’ is grow flowers, I can’t see what could be lamer than that.” A fourth girl said.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that…” The girls turned around to see the group of boys across the room had been listening to their conversation. “Word on the street is the police think she killed someone.”

“Really? She always did give me the creeps…” the first girl said.

“No, no, I heard she just moved away!” One of the other boys, the short one of the group, tried to correct his friend. “Besides, ‘word on the street’? Where do you think we live?”

“It doesn’t change what I heard. That’s the rumor floating around, and you know nothing escapes this town’s rumor mill.” The boy on the table defended his argument. “And moving away? How lame would that be? No, I don’t believe it.”

“I believe in Shorty!” The loud girl stood up. “I walk by that house every day! I saw a moving truck! I did!”

“See?” The short boy smiled at the endorsement. “She just moved away, no need to scare everyone with rumors like that.”

“Oh, really?” The boy on the desk didn’t seem convinced. “I have an idea—if you’re so sure she’s gone, why don’t we go check out for ourselves?”

The short boy shook his head. “Don’t tell me you want to try and sneak into her house…”

His friend laughed. “You know me so well!” He patted ‘Shorty’ on the shoulder. “Let’s call it a ‘test of courage,’ shall we? Oh, don’t give me that look! If you’re right, and she’s gone, then we’ve got nothing to worry about, do we?” He smiled as the shorter boy looked visibly uneasy about the proposition.

“You’re awfully cavalier about charging into the house of someone you think is a murderer…”

The boy on the desk just taunted him. “If you’re too scared, then now’s your last chance to admit I’m right!”

“Ooh! I wanna go too!” The loud girl interjected, a little too enthusiastically. “I can’t wait to see what’s inside that house!”

“Then it’s settled! We meet at my place at midnight!”

“What’s settled? This is a stupid idea! And why midnight?” ‘Shorty’ voiced his complaints.

“Because it’s a test of courage! It would just be lame if we did it in the middle of the day!”

* * *

As planned, the three of them met up at the one boy’s house before setting out. Bringing little other than flashlights on their ‘test of courage,’ they followed the roads past a number of small rice fields before nearing the grand flower field that signified the Kazami residence. 

“What happened to this place?” Shorty ran his flashlight over the field to his right. “There’s plants everywhere!”

“Of course there are plants everywhere! It’s a farm, you dummy!” The loud girl, who had seemed far too excited about the prospect of sneaking onto someone’s property, gave him a little smack on the top of his head. “Although now that you say it…” She looked where his flashlight was shining, and saw quite a few more plants than one would normally expect on a farm. “The place does look completely overgrown…”

“I thought you said you walk past here every day?” The taller boy questioned her. “How would this surprise you…?”

“Maybe it just…” She stopped her hypothesis before it began, choosing instead to laugh it off. “Haha, I guess it just looks worse at night, huh?”

“Whatever you say…” The taller boy said as they reached the steps leading up to the house proper. “Well, we’re here.”

“Are you sure this is safe? I mean even leaving aside everything else, we’re still breaking into someone’s house, aren’t we?” The boy called ‘Shorty’ complained.

“Nah, man! What’s the point of a test of courage without a little adventure?” the other boy answered. “Besides, just _look_ at that house! The lights aren’t on, it’s totally overgrown—it’s gotta be abandoned!” He confidently announced as he strode towards the front door, the girl skipping along behind him.

“But it’s midnight, of course the lights aren’t—” before Shorty realized his companions had left, they had already made it halfway to the door. “Hey, wait up!” he said. When he caught up, they walked the rest of the way towards the door together. “I guess there’s no talking you out of this, is there?”

“Nope!” the loud girl answered his rhetorical question, loudly of course. She gave the braver boy a pat on the shoulder. “You do the honors, tall boy!”

Even he hesitated a little, before reaching for the door handle. _‘I’m not scared… this house is abandoned, just as they said… It’s just a little exploring, that’s all…’_ After psyching himself up, he slowly opened the door and made the first steps in. “What a convenient place to put a tree…” he quipped after running straight into it immediately as he entered.

While the girl laughed at his misfortune, the shorter boy just stared at the tree in wonder. “Wow… It’s beautiful, but… how did a tree even grow here?”

“I dunno… magic?” the taller one joked as he stood dumbfounded by this new obstacle. After a few seconds he shook his head and laughed. “Y’know, I can’t bring myself to believe that _isn’t_ what happened…”

“Of course it was magic!” the girl walked right past him and marveled at the interior of the house, now overrun with plants of all descriptions. “How do you think she did all those things with her flower garden? Magic, of course! She has plant magic—that’s the only answer!”

“Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?” ‘Shorty’ asked rhetorically. “… But even if what you say is true, then wouldn’t the house being overgrown like this be a sign she _is_ still here?” He gestured towards the plant-infested floor while himself staying as close to the door as possible.

The girl waved her hand in front of her face, dismissing the thought. “Nah, I know that girl—if there’s anything she hates, it’s her garden looking ugly.” She crossed her arms, a sign to tell the boys ‘argument’s over, I win.’ “Besides, I thought _you_ were the one betting the house was abandoned, right Shorty? What are you getting all flaky for now?”

“Well…” he pointed towards the hallway, where against one of the walls rested a very familiar pink umbrella. “You said you know that girl, didn’t you? Have you _ever_ seen her without that? She would die before taking her eyes off that thing for five seconds.”

“Maybe she just forgot it.” The girl ran up towards the parasol, grabbing it by the handle and picking it up. She noticed the entire tip had been stuck into the floorboards to stabilize it, rather than actually leaning on the wall. Still, she paid it no mind and returned to the boys. “I say we take it as a souvenir!”

Both of them suddenly became much more uneasy then they had already been. “Um… How about we return it instead?” the taller boy suggested.

“Or… we could just leave it right here and forget any of this happened… right?” ‘Shorty’ offered what he believed to be an even safer option. 

They had been so caught up in their conversation over the past few minutes, they had failed to take notice of the approaching footsteps from down the hall until a fourth person announced their presence to the ‘adventuring party’ with a loud yawn: “Who is it at this time of night? Can’t you wait until morning to disrupt my privacy?” 

The three of them turned their heads and froze up as they saw the one thing they had hoped not to: Kazami Yuuka, in her pink pajamas, bearing down on them. She tiredly rubbed her eyes and looked over the small group with a bored look. If one ignores the unusual hair and eye color, she really looked like a normal girl who just needed some sleep.

The intruders, however, would not agree with that assessment. All three made concerted efforts to back away out the front door, even the girl who had previously been so headstrong. For them, there were two possibilities, and they had reveled in the possibility that they might have been safe—Yuuka’s arrival was equivalent to opening Schrödinger’s box only to discover the cat had been dead this whole time. Out of the three of them, ‘Shorty’ held the most enviable position, already in the doorway. All he had to do was back out quickly and—

“WWAH!” One step out and he tripped on something he could have sworn wasn’t there before. He fell backwards, but before landing on the ground he found himself caught by something. He looked back and found vines of some sort all over the place where there used to be empty space. He tried to get back on his feet and make a break for it, but he soon found those vines had made their way around his limbs, keeping him restrained while suspended off the ground.

“Shorty!” The taller boy immediately rushed to his assistance, and their female companion wasn’t far behind. They pulled at the vines with all their might, but to no avail.

“Oh, it looks like I caught a rat.” Yuuka, now fully awake, slowly walked over towards the group. “Now, you broke into my house, disturbed my sleep, and messed with my plants… but it seems you brought me a midnight snack, so I think I could be persuaded to let this go just this once.” Sometime during her walk over she somehow retrieved her parasol from the girl and had it over her shoulder, open, inside, in the middle of the night. Despite serving no practical purpose, it only added to the confusion felt by the three intruders.

“A snack…? You don’t mean you’re gonna…!” The still-standing boy stammered. He tried to distance himself, but in the confines of the entryway, there was nowhere for him to go.

“Hmm?” Yuuka acknowledged him, turning to face him with a mock contemplative expression. “For the plants, of course. Although…” She smiled warmly, but the disconnect between what she was saying and her body language only inspired more fear in the hearts of the three. “But if you insist, I guess I could have a taste myself.”

“You’re joking, right?” The girl laughed weakly. “Haha, ‘cause it’s not like you’d actually do something like that, right? There’s no way you’d actually kill someone…”

“Why not?” Yuuka responds immediately, directing her gaze at the girl.

“Because—do I really have to answer that!? Come on, Kazami! I know people like to tell stories about you, but you’re still a normal person under all that, aren’t you? You’ve got to have at least some humanity!” The taller boy spoke emphatically, imitating the cartoon heroes he always adored as a child. Cliché as it was, it seemed the only way to ensure his friends got out of this alive would be to treat their long-time classmate as a recurring villain on a children’s show. “We’ve learned our lesson, we won’t come here again; so why don’t you just let us go, and we can all forget this ever happened?”

Yuuka just laughed at his speech, stepping ever closer to their immobilized friend. “Not a chance!” Her laugh was not rambunctious, nor any sort of inherently sinister cackling; it was a soft, derisive chuckle mixed in with the condescension that told the listener exactly who was superior. “Humanity? When have I ever had a shred of that? You’ve heard the rumors: I’ve been a monster from the moment I was born. Oh, and you think you’re going to ‘forget’ this?” She extended her off-hand, grabbing Shorty’s chin and forcing his face to face hers. “I assure you, no matter what trauma you face, no matter how much hypnotism you face, no matter how hard you try, you will _never_ forget this night.” She lifted her other arm off her shoulder, and closed the parasol in it one-handed. Other hand still on the boy’s chin, she aggressively raised her ‘weapon’ above her head.

The helpless boy had long since soiled himself, and panic had set in. “P- please don’t kill me! I- I’ll do anything!” He pleaded. However, Yuuka’s expression failed to budge.

“Don’t hurt him!” Suddenly feeling a burst of bravery in what seem to be her friend’s final moments, the girl lunged forward, slamming into Yuuka. With the immense difference in strength, Yuuka didn’t move an inch, but that did not deter the girl from latching on to her shoulders in hopes that, at the very least, the girl could stop whatever it was that Yuuka was about to do. “Please, you can’t hurt Shorty! You may not have noticed, but he has the _biggest_ crush on you! I know you’re all wrapped up in the idea that everyone hates you, but there _are_ people out there who love you, you know!” Shorty would have been scandalized by his secret being revealed if it was any other scenario; now, all he had to hold on was the hope that Yuuka would take the girl’s words to heart.

“People who love me?” Yuuka laughed, this time louder and less restrained than before. “You don’t understand, do you?” she took her hand off of Shorty and used it to send the girl flying into the wall. “I am a youkai, a demon. No human can love me. It is a simple matter of fact: I don’t need your love. I don’t need anything you can possibly give me. That is, except your fear.” She turned back towards Shorty, this time finally showing a wicked grin that made it clear, if it wasn’t already, she fully intended on murder tonight. “So that girl told me not to hurt you, and you said you’d do anything, right?” He nodded weakly. “Then that works out perfectly. There’s only one thing I want you to do:”

Shorty gulped, no idea what to expect, but hoping against hope that it would be better than being slaughtered. It wasn’t.

“Watch.”

* * *

“My, you’ve been quite… quick to adapt to the whole ‘youkai’ thing, haven’t you, Yuukarin?” The next day, Yuuka went to her favorite pocket dimension, _The Land of Fantasies_ , and as was quickly becoming the norm, found the mysterious woman standing under her father’s tree, wielding a parasol much like her own.

“Don’t call me that! I’m not a child, you know that!” Yuuka shouted back. By this point, she was hardly startled by the woman being in her space. In fact, she was beginning to suspect the woman liked the place so much she’d moved in.

“Ah, but compared to me you are.” She stepped forwards and ruffled Yuuka’s hair. “I’m so proud of my little Yuukarin! She’s grown so much!” She smiled a shit-eating grin and laughed as Yuuka pushed her off.

“You know,” Yuuka said as she straightened out her hair. “For someone who claims to be a powerful and ancient youkai… you really don’t act the part.”

“Why should I?” She responded cheerfully. “Acting all proper is so dull… I would have died of boredom centuries ago!”

“…I won’t pretend to understand that…” Yuuka shot her a harsh glance. “Anyways, I know you didn’t just come here to dote on me. Tell me why you’re intruding on my perfectly fine day.”

“A fine day, you say? I saw what you were up to last night.” The cheery tone in her voice dropped, but she still sounded as patronizing as before: a tendency that always got on Yuuka’s nerves. “I must say, you’ve already exceeded my expectations. I thought you were some kind of flower demon, but I had no idea a flower youkai could be so…”

“You had no idea I could be so strong?” Yuuka tried to finish, a certain level of pride showing itself in her voice.

“So cruel.” The woman finished her own sentence, both disappointing and confusing Yuuka. “I mean, for someone whose specialty is _flowers_ , you’ve really taken to the idea of being a ‘youkai,’ huh?”

“Wasn’t it _you_ who told me that a youkai subsists on the fear of humans? Is that not how you become feared, through brutality?” Yuuka stepped forwards. “And I’ll have you know there’s a lot more to flowers than you think. They’re anything but dainty.”

“Yes, yes, that’s all correct.” The woman said defensively. “ _However_ , I didn’t think you would just run off and do something like _that_!” She raised her voice somewhat. “You tied up one of the only people who ever liked you and forced him to watch as you tortured his friends to death! Something like ‘every rose has thorns’ doesn’t even come close to explaining that!”

Yuuka was taken aback by her emphatic condemnation of last night’s events. “What do you mean? Do you expect me, a _youkai_ , to just make friends with the humans around me? I am a demon—a _monster_ , am I not? What grounds do have to lecture me on cruelty when I am born to be evil? What kind of holy things have _you_ done, Ms. Ancient Youkai?” Yuuka launched her enraged confusion at the woman in the form of a barrage of rhetorical questions.

“Now, now, calm down.” The woman kept her composure under the barrage, and had the gall to urge _her_ to calm down. “I’m not the police, you can do whatever you want. I’m just saying I’m… surprised. I hadn’t imagined you were that kind of person… Not that I haven’t killed and terrorized my fair share of people, but we don’t really _do_ much of that stuff anymore.”

“You…!” Yuuka was going to respond, but she knew that would keep herself on the defensive, so instead she changed the focus. “Why don’t you go and bother one of your _other_ youkai friends? I’m sure someone as ‘all-knowing’ as you has quite a bit, huh?” To her surprise, the woman didn’t answer; instead, she averted her eyes. “…What, you don’t have any? …You don’t, do you?”

“No… I don’t.” The woman looked down. “I don’t have any more ‘youkai friends.’ I did, once upon a time, but that time is long gone. All of them—victims to the passing of time.” She answered solemnly, although her answer raised more questions than it answered.

“What is that supposed to mean? They died of old age?” Yuuka, not one to be wrapped up in the somber mood, voiced her confusions. “The strong and feared youkai falling to something so… human? That’s ridiculous!”

“Old age? No, something far less dignified.” The woman walked past Yuuka, looking over the majestic valley below as she spoke. “Youkai live on fears: that’s something I know you know well.” She didn’t even bother to look at Yuuka as she delivered that obvious jab. “But time goes on. Once, humans were afraid of the darkness, but now… you can hardly see the stars at night. People feared the uncertain, but in this age of ‘information and progress,’ hardly anything is left to fear. And with nothing to fear…”

“…There is no need for youkai anymore.” Yuuka finished her sentence, prompting the woman to crack a smile at her understanding. “But that’s not the whole story, isn’t it? Watch the news for ten seconds and tell me humans have nothing to fear!”

“Of course, I’ve heard it all. Murderers, terrorists, nuclear war… what do all of these have in common, though?”

“They’re all—” Yuuka did not have enough time to actually answer as the woman cut her off and continued her speech.

“—They’re all caused by _humans_ . You see, modern humans are rational people.” She chuckled dryly to herself at that line. “—they don’t need to project their fears onto the supernatural anymore. They know exactly what they’re afraid of, and it’s _other humans_.” On that last line, she turned her head and pointed her glance at Yuuka, hammering in the key point.

Still, Yuuka would not be content to end the conversation there. Here was a woman who seemed to have all the answers to all of her questions, and she would take advantage of that as much as possible. “But that doesn’t make any sense! Most of the world is still religious, you can’t tell me there isn’t enough to support _anything_!”

“Of course, there are still a good number of gods around—they usually thrive on faith, not fear. The famous ones, at least. Lack of faith has been quite hard on some of the lesser ones. I’d say at least ninety percent of the shrines in Japan are godless these days.”

“And where do _you_ fit into this story?” Yuuka stepped up towards the ledge to stand on an equal level. “You’re saying all this about the youkai dying off, and yet here you are. If you’re telling the truth, who are you and how are _you_ still alive? What haven’t you been telling me?”

“Funny, those are the same questions I’ve been meaning to ask you. Not that you actually seem to know the answers, though…”

“Don’t change the subject, you old hag!” Yuuka grabbed onto her shirt and shouted into her face. “I’ve had enough of you acting like you’re above me! You just come into _my place_ and start telling me who _I_ am and what _I_ should do, and you don’t as much as tell me your name! I’ve gone along with you this whole time, but tell me… why the _hell_ should I trust you?”

The woman kept her irritating smile, radiating a self-confidence that did not help Yuuka’s mood. “My, my, violent as ever, are we?” She calmly pulled out a hand fan and started fanning herself, as if someone didn’t currently have their hand at her throat. “First of all, _never_ _call me that.”_ Just as quickly as her tone became serious, she snapped back to her carefree persona and did a little bow. “Yakumo Yukari at your service.” Then, having only half-answered the question, she disappeared into thin air, leaving Yuuka grasping at nothing.

“Damn that woman...!” Yuuka clenched her fist as she straightened her back and turned towards the entrance. “I don’t even know why I came here today… at least I got a name…”

* * *

As it turned out, when Yukari made her escape, she didn’t go very far. She stood in a small grove on the other side of the valley, still well within the bounds of the _Land of Fantasies_ . As she watched Yuuka walk away from a distance, she began to wonder to herself. ‘ _To think, just when I thought I was the last one left, when all of us have been dying off one-by-one… There’s a brand-new youkai in town.’_ Once she was sure she was alone, she stepped out of the grove and looked over the valley. _‘I didn’t lie. This Kazami Yuuka… there is much more she doesn’t know about herself than about me. Born from human parents… in the modern day… with power that grows_ **_stronger_ ** _by the day rather than weaker… and to top it all off, she’s got this.’_

She descended the slope into the valley and walked amongst the wildflowers towards the place she had lately been building a small residence. _‘A pocket dimension hidden from normal eyes, where I can feel the magic in the air… I probably could have made this with my power… If only I had thought of this a hundred years ago.’_ Yukari looked towards the sky. _‘Maybe… I could have saved them…’_


	2. Investigation

Literally a world away, a small TV blared in a cramped office. **_In this week’s news, tensions with China are higher than ever regarding the Senkaku Islands dispute. The debate has become even more heated due to yesterday’s incident in which a Japanese Coast Guard vessel—_ **

“Shut that off, will you!” The man behind one of the desks shouted to the other person in the office, his subordinate. “I’m trying to work here, and that thing ain’t helping one bit!” In front of him was a pile of paper tall enough that he could barely see the offending TV set from his desk.

“A- Ah, Right on it, Mr. Inoue!” his subordinate rushed over and turned it off before timidly walking back up to his desk.

“Good. I have no idea why that thing keeps turning on, but it’s impossible to work when you’ve got those idiots telling you the world’s about to end or some shit…” Inoue set down a file he was trying to read and leaned forwards onto his desk. “So, what have you got for me today, Watanabe?”

“J- Just one case, detective.” Watanabe produced a manila folder that barely seemed to contain the paper within it. He set the folder down on top of one of the stacks of paper on Inoue’s desk. “But it’s a little… strange. I’m not even sure if it’s real or not.”

“Heh, slow day, isn’t it?” He grabbed the file and opened it. He hummed as he scanned the first page with a brief summary of the case. “It’s from way out there? Figures a town that small wouldn’t be able to handle a case this… big… on their own.” He measured the thickness of the file with his fingers for emphasis.

“That’s why they sent it to us, sir.” Watanabe said. More specifically, Inoue is the chief detective at the prefectural police office which oversees all municipal offices in Nagano prefecture. When a town has a case they can’t handle on their own, it goes to him. Because it is a rural area, most of the towns’ departments barely have the funding and resources to handle anything above petty theft, which means more work for poor Inoue and his assistant.

Inoue ignored his assistant’s remarks and kept reading the summary. After a while, he looked up at Watanabe. “This is… certainly a strange case you’ve got here.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Inoue laughed, then he picked the file off the table and stood up. “Well, we’re going to solve it, of course! Get the car; we’re going to check this out!”

Watanabe was taken aback. “B- But what about the other cases you’re working on!? You read the file, didn’t you? This has got to just be some sort of prank! What about all of the _actual_ cases you’ve got to solve!?” He pointed to the large stack of papers on the desk. “Don’t tell me we’re abandoning those for this nonsense!”

“Hey, department policy.” Inoue said dismissively. “Even if it’s a prank, we technically could be looking at a case of serial murder, so it goes right to the top of our priority list. Besides,” He flashed a smile towards his assistant. “Doesn’t it sound interesting?”

* * *

After a three-hour drive through the winding country roads that took them across the prefecture, the detective and his assistant arrived in the small town where the case was reported. They pulled up to the town’s government center: a small building that housed not only the police department, but just about every public employee in the town. Watanabe got out of the car first and waited for his boss to take the lead.

“Man, this place is really a dump…” Inoue groaned as he stepped out of the car, looking up at the poorly maintained building.

“Are you surprised, sir? The way you were talking on the trip made it sound like you’ve been here before…” Watanabe said as he fell in behind Inoue, the two of them walking towards the front door.

“Oh, I have to come out here all the time,” Inoue said, pulling the door open. “But that don’t mean it stops surprising me.”

His assistant stopped for a second, trying to figure out what he meant. “Y- Yes…” He said before scampering in order to get in the door before it closed, Inoue having already walked in. He quickly caught up to his boss as the two approached what seemed to be a receptionist’s desk. It was a cheap little particle board desk, and the chair the receptionist sat in didn’t seem to be of any higher quality, but judging from all the hand-written paper signs, the office at least seemed to be making an honest effort.

“Ah, hello there! Been a while since I’ve seen a new face around here!” The receptionist called out to them shortly after they walked in, wearing a large smile that, at least in the city, was a sign of someone who hadn’t been in the business for long. “What brings you out to our little village? Need help finding something?”

“Police business, we’re from the prefectural office.” Inoue answered simply and without even a fraction of the enthusiasm the receptionist had. “I need to talk to the officer on duty.” He flashed his badge, as per procedure.

“Oh, police?” The receptionist stood up from the chair and turned to point at one of the doors down the hall. “The police department is in that room over there. As you walk in, he’ll be on the left half of the room.”

“ _Not even the whole room_?” Watanabe expressed incredulously, although the other two did not seem to pay him any mind.

“Thank you.” Inoue nodded. He gestured for his assistant to follow as he set down the hall.

“No problem! I hope you find what you’re looking for!” The receptionist said as they walked away, giving a cheerful wave.

Watanabe leaned towards his boss and whispered. “I would have assumed a case like this would have been the talk of the town somewhere this small… but it sounds like that person has no idea why we’re here at all…”

“It does seem so…” Inoue stopped as he reached the door they were headed for. “But let’s hope _this_ person has some idea.” He slammed open the door unannounced and his eyes immediately found their way to the startled man in a blue uniform who sat at the desk to their left. Inoue flashed his badge to the man and spoke. “I’m Detective Inoue from the prefectural office. This is my assistant, Watanabe.” He gestured behind him. “I understand that you have sent a… unique file to our office.”

“I- I didn’t think you guys would come so soon!” The officer stammered as he jolted upright in his seat. “Usually it takes weeks—”

“—Can’t help it when you’ve got it labelled as ‘serial murder’…” Inoue gestured to his assistant, prompting him to produce the case folder and drop it on the desk. Then the detective continued. “Speaking of time delays… So, I got the chance to read some of this on the drive here and I’ve gotta wonder… this file seems to be _years_ old, and yet the actual incidents only happened this month. Why is that? Does this town just keep open files on every single resident?”

“No, no, no, not at all!” The officer waved his hands in front of himself defensively. “It’s just this one… the whole town has always been on me, demanding I look into her. They even threatened to cut my funding if I didn’t at least open a file!”

“Oh, then this isn’t a case of murder, it’s a case of corruption. Is that it?” Inoue leered over the officer. “It sounds like you’ve got someone you want gone and just now you’re trying to pin something on her… Y’know, people in this country have something called _rights_.”

“No way!” The officer shouted before pointing at the cork board that hung on the wall behind his desk. On it were a few pictures, each with the word ‘MISSING’ displayed in large letters above them. “All of these people just went missing this month—we usually have one case a _year_ !” the officer made an over exaggerated gesture with his hands to emphasize his point. “ _And_ , for each one of them, we’ve got a witness. Those witnesses all say the same thing: the victims were _murdered_. And we know exactly who did it.” He placed his finger firmly on the folder on the table.

“Alright, let’s say you _are_ serious, and this isn’t just some witch hunt.” Inoue crossed his arms. “If this is such an open-and-shut case as you say it is, then why are we here? I’m sure you could get an arrest warrant yourself.”

“Well…” The officer slinked back a little bit. “All I’ve got is the eyewitness testimony… I need someone to get physical evidence or it’ll never hold.” He admitted rather sheepishly, realizing he was demanding someone who outranked him to do the hard part of the job. “After all, as far as the public is concerned, this is just a missing persons case.”

“Hmph.” Inoue huffed and turned towards his assistant. “As I told you: useless.” He said, not even trying to hide his assessment from the officer. “Can’t even get off his ass to—”

“—You think I’m lazy?” The officer shouted back. “I’m only one man! Tell me, would _you_ walk right into the home of a suspected murderer _alone_?” He could sense that Inoue was suppressing the urge to respond to his rhetorical question, so the officer quickly continued before he could. “…I know you’re going to say ‘yes,’ but that’s exactly why I sent you the report: you’re a professional!” He reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of paper that he pushed out towards the detective. “You just need to go there and find the proof! I’ve got the warrant right here!”

“…And? You want us to go search this person’s house?” Inoue said, not waiting for a confirmation. “You do know we both outrank you, right? And yet _you’re_ giving _us_ orders.”

“Y- yes, but—”

Suddenly, Inoue laughed. “Don’t worry, I was just testing you.” He snatched the warrant from the officer and placed it in his pocket. “I’m a detective, it’s my job to listen to the local advice to solve cases.” He gave the officer a hard slap on the shoulder. “Of course, I still _am_ your superior. We’re gonna go investigate, and if we find nothing… _then_ it’ll be time for a lesson in ethics.” Then he turned to his assistant. “Let’s go, Watanabe.”

Inoue soon left the room, but just as Watanabe was about to follow him, the officer called out to him. “Wait!” the assistant turned around to see the officer holding onto his sleeve. “Just one more thing…”

“What? Did you ‘forget’ to tell us some important detail?” Watanabe replied with a harsh tone.

“No, just…” He let go of Watanabe’s sleeve. “I think you should hide a camera… just in case.” The officer grabbed his hand and placed a small black object in it.

Watanabe looked confusedly at the item in his palm. “In case what…?”

“In case… well, just hope it doesn’t happen to you.”

“I… see…” Watanabe, feeling the conversation was over, left through the door to follow his boss. After jogging for a bit, he was able to catch up to him at the front door. Together, they exited and walked out to the car. “Where to, sir?” He prompted as he opened the driver’s side door.

“Where do you think?” Inoue quipped, “We’re going to the Kazami house. I’ve heard you can’t miss it.”

* * *

Despite not having an actual address, it took no time at all for Watanabe to find their destination. In a town as small as this, it stuck out like a sore thumb. A large field of out-of-season flowers spread before them, encroaching on the neighboring properties as well as having seemingly taken over the house at its center. “That is… well it’s certainly hard to miss…” Watanabe marveled at the sight as he pulled the car off the side of the road.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Inoue wasted no time in jumping out of the passenger’s seat onto the dirt at the side of the road. He patted his hip to make sure he was properly armed and then started up the steps that led to the front door. While he walked, he voiced his thoughts out loud. “Judging by the foliage, this house clearly hasn’t been occupied for at least ten years… and yet…”

“But what, sir?” Watanabe fell in behind him and joined into his train of thought. “More evidence the local officer here is incompetent?”

“No…” Inoue gestured up towards the house. “Aside from that, the house seems to be in perfect shape. And add in these fields which are so well-maintained there is clearly someone living here _now_ … something here just isn’t adding up. Well, there’s only one way to find out.” He walked up to the front door and knocked twice.

Almost a minute had passed with no response, causing Watanabe to become anxious. “What are we waiting for, sir? We have a warrant—we could just go in… Do we really need to stand here and wait for them to answer the door?”

“It’s common courtesy, Watanabe. If our person’s here, then it would be rude to just go in without telling them first. We’re detectives, not barbarians.” Inoue quipped. “Besides, while the town might be treating them as a culprit, we don’t know for sure if a crime _even happened_ , so stop bitching and act polite.”

“A- Ah, yes sir!” Watanabe backed off and snapped into a more official stance he learned as a recruit at the police academy. Another minute passed with the two of them looking presentable, and no one had even so much as heard a sound from the other side of the door. “Um, sir… are you sure there’s someone here?”

Inoue hummed. “Maybe not… I guess my intuition was off this time, huh?” The detective cautiously reached for the doorknob, finally deciding it was no longer worth waiting for someone who wouldn’t come. Naturally, the moment he touched the knob was the very moment someone came.

“Oh, I didn’t know I had visitors today.” The pair turned around to see the voice had come from not within the house, but from behind them. There stood Kazami Yuuka in the shade of her parasol, wearing her trademark plaid outfit as well as a gentle smile. “To whom do I owe the honor of a visit this fine day?” She spoke awfully politely: something the two had not expected, but it certainly helped to ease their fears.

Inoue quickly got away from the door and regained his composure. He offered a slight bow in introduction. “I am Detective Inoue from the Nagano Prefectural Police, and this is my assistant, Watanabe.” He, too, gave a similar bow. “Sorry to intrude, but we were wondering if you can spare some time; we would like to talk to you about a certain case…” He, too, spoke politely and professionally. It wouldn’t do to offend this person with his usual, brasher, manner of speech.

“It would be my pleasure, detective. You’re probably already aware, but just in case: I’m Kazami Yuuka, the owner of this house.” Yuuka folded her parasol and walked past them up to the door, opening it and gesturing inside. “I’m sure you would rather continue this inside, so please, come in. The sitting room is just over there, so if you’ll follow me…” She walked gently down the corridor with the two visitors in tow until they reached a small room at the end. In the center of the room was a traditional low table seemingly designed to fit a _kotatsu_ heating device. Around it were a set of pillows on the floor that Yuuka directed the two to sit on. When they were settled, she gave a slight bow and spoke. “I’ll go make some tea, so make yourselves at home.”

When she left the room, the detective and his assistant took the opportunity to let their eyes wander around the room. “I must say, the house looks better on the inside than the outside... a lot of plants though.” Inoue said, taking note of the floral-print wallpaper that, on closer inspection turned out to be actual live flowers grown on vines pressed against the wall. “If anything, she certainly is skilled at botany.” As he scanned, his eyes stopped on his assistant’s face. “Hm? What’s the matter, Watanabe, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“U- Um, something like that.” He pointed in the direction he was looking. “T- Those flowers…!”

Inoue followed his arm to see a flower pot sitting on the floor in the corner of the room. “Huh? It’s a very nice arrangement… oh.” Inoue’s eyes too turned wide when he saw Watanabe wasn’t pointing at the flowers, he was pointing at the _pot_ they were in. A pot that looked a lot like a human skull. Alarmed, Inoue quickly searched the room, and found that in the opposite corner sat another pot very similar to that one. “What the hell…”

“Do you think those are…?” Watanabe asked.

Inoue, for his part, remained calm. “…Don’t get worked up just yet, they could just be replicas. It’s definitely worth looking in to, but it’s totally possible that they were just bought…” He trailed off on his conjectures when he noticed Yuuka was returning with a tray of three cups.

“Hm? Interested in my décor?” Yuuka asked as she walked into the doorway. “I did it all by myself. You don’t know how much work it was getting some of those arrangements to look presentable.” She said, still as cheerful and polite as before, but the two visitors were not quite as reassured this time. “Well, you two look down…” She bent over and began distributing the teacups. “Here, I made some red tea, that should put some more life into you.”

Inoue looked at the cup that had been placed in front of him. It was certainly… red. Quite a bit redder than usual. He looked up at Yuuka. “Excuse me, what’s in this tea?” he asked.

Yuuka smiled as she took a seat on one of the empty pillows. “Oh, just a few additives… some things that make it taste better to someone like me.” She took a sip of her own tea, and the visitors just watched in silence as she savored it before placing the cup back on the table. “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to.”

Inoue gulped. “I… see…” He couldn’t let himself get distracted, so he regained his composure. “Anyways, Miss Kazami, we were here to ask you a few questions, so shall we begin?”

“Of course.” Yuuka said. “Please, ask all you want.”

Inoue nodded. “Alright. So first,” As he began, Watanabe pulled out a notepad and pen to record the interview. “You said you were the owner of this house, did you not?”

“Yes I did.” Yuuka nodded. “Because I am the owner. No one else lives here.”

“Mmhm, it appears so.” Inoue said. “However, our records have the owner being listed as Kazami Kaori… your mother, is it not?”

Yuuka took another sip of her tea. “My mother is dead.” She said while maintaining her polite smile. “As I said, this house belongs to me now and me alone.”

“She’s dead!? How come no one told--?” Watanabe raised his voice, but he stopped himself when he saw his boss raise a hand.

“Now, now, no need to raise your voice, Watanabe.” Inoue said, largely in an attempt to keep the discussion as professional as possible. “However, my assistant does raise a good point. Miss Kazami, how did she die, and do you have any idea why that fact was not in our records?”

“My mother died of… severe food poisoning about a month ago. As for the second question… If I were to guess, she was not the most social person. That woman would never show her face in public as long as I’ve been alive… I bet no one has noticed because nothing has changed.” Yuuka explained calmly and gleefully, leaving Inoue and Watanabe confused as to whether they should be sympathetic to her loss or unnerved by her attitude. Watanabe, at least, had the luxury of avoiding contact to focus on the notepad in his hands.

“I see…” Inoue solved the conundrum by focusing on his job: continuing the questioning. “Well, leaving that aside for now…” He reached into his coat pocket to produce a pair of pictures. Both were of high school students, one male and one female. “When is the last time you saw these two? They’re classmates of yours, are they not?”

Yuuka took the images calmly, and just as calmly responded. “These two… Ah, they came by here about a week or so ago.”

“They were _here_?” Watanabe repeated incredulously. 

At the same time, Inoue narrowed his eyes at her. “So they were here… and?”

“And?” Yuuka tilted her head, indicating the question was not understood.

“I’m asking…” Inoue leaned in over the table. “These two went _missing_ about a week ago. If they were here, then tell me: _What happened?_ ” Inoue’s voice was no longer that of a polite guest, but one that fit him better: now he played the role of the interrogator. “If you don’t tell us, then we’ve got to assume the worst… and there seems to be no shortage of people that want to pin this on you.”

Yuuka sat upright and hummed. “Hmm, that sounds serious, doesn’t it. But first…” Seemingly out of nowhere, a white chrysanthemum appeared in her hand. “Let me ask _you_ a question: do you believe in fairy tales?”

“…What?” Inoue was taken aback. “Don’t think you can just dodge the question—!”

“—So let’s say you don’t. That makes you different from most in this town.” Yuuka interrupted him and continued to move the conversation on her own terms. “You see, there’s this tale that’s popular in this village: of a demon who roams the streets, preying on our children. They say no amount of force can kill it, and that it has the power to control even life and death with nothing but its _mind_. They say it’ll eat you if you even step on its territory.” She paused and smiled as the two exchanged confused glances. “Or, at least, that’s what the parents around here tell their kids. What do you think, gentlemen? Does this story intrigue you?”

“That’s just a story that parents use to keep children from wandering off, of course it has no basis in truth.” Inoue tried to dismiss the topic. “I’m a detective; I don’t deal with pointless superstitions like that. I deal with facts, and there’s one fact I want to know: _what did you do to those two_?”

“You’re forward, aren’t you?” She smiled. “…But you’re mistaken. There’s nothing ‘pointless’ about this superstition. In fact…” Right before their eyes, the flower in her hand multiplied into a massive bouquet. “You’ll find it holds quite a bit of truth.”

Watanabe was shocked by her little display. “How did you--?” Again, he was cut off by his boss.

Inoue jumped up out of his seat and closed the gap with Yuuka. He towered over her seated form and leaned into her face with an accusing finger extended. “Don’t think you can just distract me with your parlor tricks! I demand you answer my questions _right now_ or we’ll see how you respond to a proper interrogation room.” He spoke with as much authority as he could muster, practically screaming his order into Yuuka’s face.

Unfazed, Yuuka laughed derisively. “A parlor trick, you say?” She tilted her head towards Watanabe. “Mister assistant, you seem like a smart one. Do you know what these chrysanthemums represent in the language of flowers?”

“W- Well…” Watanabe paused, unsure of how to respond, but he decided it would be in his best interest to answer her question. “Chrysanthemums… represent the Emperor, don’t they? They’re the symbol of the imperial family. Why is that important?”

“The Emperor, huh?” Inoue repeated. Despite his assertions to the opposite, he is also finding it hard to resist Yuuka’s attempts to change subjects. After all, she clearly must be leading to something with all this. “Is that what you think, huh? That you’re somehow above us peasants? Well I’ve got news for you. No one is above the law, and _we_ are the law.” Inoue crossed his arms. “So you better start talking.”

“Of course detective, I will tell you everything you need. Please take a seat. After all the effort I went through to prepare this room for guests, it would be a shame to leave it unused.” Yuuka gestured to the cushion, but Inoue didn’t budge. Regardless, she turned her head back towards Watanabe and continued. “I’m sorry, mister, but your conclusion was mistaken. The imperial symbol is a _yellow_ chrysanthemum, these are _white_ chrysanthemums—and they mean ‘truth.’ As in, everything you see and hear today is _truth_. No matter how much you may wish it wasn’t.” She smiled, perhaps a little too broadly.

“What the hell is that supposed to—?”

“You’re still standing.” Yuuka addressed Inoue, without turning her head or moving her hands from her lap. “I thought I told you to _sit_.” While she was not quite strong enough yet to do it with no movement, she tried to appear as unaffected as possible while she focused her power towards the vines that were serving as wall decorations. The wall seemed to come to life as ten of those vines shot out and latched onto Inoue at various points over his body. He reacted quickly, trying to reach for his holstered weapon, but the strength of the vines prevented him from grabbing his pistol. Then, Yuuka sent another instruction to the plants, ordering them to pull down, pinning the man on the floor. “Well, it’s not exactly sitting, but I think that’ll do for now." Yuuka commented.

“What the hell--!?” Inoue pulled against the vines with all his might, but to no avail. “What did you do to me!?” Watanabe, seeing his boss’ peril but not carrying a weapon of his own, ran to Inoue’s side and tried to help him pull off the vines.

“Hm? You don’t like it?” Yuuka tilted her head childishly. “After all the work I put into preparing this… I thought you detectives would be used to this: confronting the villain only to end up helpless at their whims… or have I been watching too much TV?” She chuckled to herself.

“You…” Inoue growled, he wanted to just shout profanities, but something didn’t seem right about what she said. “How did you know we were coming? _We_ didn’t even know we were coming until today!”

“Of course I didn’t know you were coming _today_ , but enough people go missing, and _someone_ ’s got to start looking into it sooner or later.” In contrast to the desperation happing right beside her, she calmly picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip. “You actually caught on faster than I expected; I thought it would take a couple more for word to get out that there’s a killer in this town. If I had known you’d be coming today I’d… well, no matter.”

“A killer… so that’s your answer? All of those missing people—you _killed_ them?”

“A brilliant deduction, detective.” Yuuka snarked as she placed the teacup back down. “They must pay you a lot with a brain like yours.” She slowly stood up from the table and grabbed her parasol off the ground beside her. “I wonder how big it must be… We’ll see soon enough, won’t we?” She let a sinister grin spread across her face as she aimed the tip of the umbrella at the man.

“—Stop right there!” She shifted her gaze to see Watanabe standing in front of her brandishing a gun; he must have given up on tearing his boss out of the vines and opted to retrieve his weapon instead. “This ends here! I’ve got your confession on tape! You are under arrest for two counts of murder!” He used his off-hand to point to the place on his body where he had hidden the camera he was given by the local officer. “Now you will release him and come with us to face the punishment for your crimes!”

“Four.”

“Stop saying things that make no sense! You are--!” Watanabe shouted in frustration and anger.

Yuuka kept that same smile as she elaborated. “You mean _four_ counts of murder. It would be unlike you to overlook such things. And that number will go up. After all…” She moved her ‘weapon’ from pointing Inoue’s face towards Watanabe. “If you’ve got a camera… I don’t need anyone to spread the message.” Without any more hesitation or restraint, she launched herself towards the assistant, tackling him to the ground and driving the sharpened tip of the parasol through his chest in one swift motion. Whatever words were in Watanabe’s throat were drowned out by the torrent of blood that filled his newly-perforated lung. As he coughed out that blood uncontrollably, Yuuka laughed. “Oh, what happened to your sudden burst of bravery? Come on, try and arrest me! Do your worst!” She cackled, making sure to look directly into the hidden camera.

“…” Watanabe tried to speak again, but it proved impossible. Still, he wasn’t out of the fight yet—this manic made a mistake by neglecting to pin his right arm. Watanabe raised his arm, and the gun with it. He placed the revolver on the side of her head, and pulled the trigger.

The blast blew Yuuka sideways, leaving a massive hole in her head—a grotesque mush of green hair and pink flesh splayed out on the floor and on Watanabe’s still-bleeding chest. 

As she fell, Inoue felt the grip of the vines loosen considerably, and he was able to tear himself out of their grasp. “Watanabe!” He shouted as he bolted over to his assistant. He took the man’s head in his arms as he examined the shape his assistant was in. Watanabe coughed another time, spilling more blood onto his chest. “Just hang in there!” Inoue said. “I’ll get you some help right away!” He pulled out his phone and punched in the number for an ambulance, but after a few rings, the call wouldn’t connect. “Damn it!” He tried again, but this time, he somehow felt the phone pull itself out of his hands.

Inoue looked up to find his phone being held in the air in front of him. He saw a hand holding the phone—a hand connected to an arm, then to a body, then to a face. The completely intact face of Kazami Yuuka smiled at him only an arms-length away. “A valiant effort” She said, “but you should know we demons are a resilient lot.”

“Y-you…!” Inoue stammered, trying to step away but finding himself against the wall. “H- How…!?”

“You should have paid more attention to your parents. Nothing good comes from dealing with a youkai.” Yuuka casually stepped forwards despite the fact that Watanabe was laying on pain on the ground between them. Without going into detail, her foot landing on his chest wasn’t exactly good for the poor man’s ability to breathe. Regardless, she advanced until she stood nose-to-nose with Inoue against the wall. “Now, show me your fear!”


	3. Questions

Later that day, Yuuka strolled down the side of the town’s quiet country roads. From a distance, she appeared as a normal and cheerful girl, but looking closer, one would quickly discover her cute little red dress was in fact caked with blood: some of it her own, most of it not. She held her similarly stained parasol over her shoulder as she walked with purpose towards her destination.

_ ‘No one else is out today… I’m glad I don’t have to deal with any more pests right now, but…’ _ Yuuka thought as she approached the most densely-populated part of her this little town. Even there, not a soul was in sight.  _ ‘If no one sees me, I really ought to have washed this all off earlier; washing off dried blood is such a pain…’ _ Shaking off the thought, she continued past a number of houses before her actual destination was in sight: the small government center that, despite only being two stories tall, somehow still managed to tower over most of its neighbors. She casually strolled up to the building and pulled the front door open.

“Ah, what can I do for you… ka!?” Across from the door, the receptionist looked up to greet the guest, but it didn’t take long to recognize the threat posed by this newest visitor, and the receptionist jumped back in surprise. In a remarkable act of self-preservation, the receptionist scrambled to their feet, knocking the chair over in the process, before heading off at a full sprint down the hall.

Yuuka just watched as the receptionist came to a specific door and hurriedly burst inside. “Oh, so that’s where it is… what a great receptionist.” She remarked to herself before heading off down the same hallway. Just outside the door, which the receptionist had neglected to close, she saw them looking panicked in front of a desk with a man in police uniform sitting on the other side.

“Hold on, calm down… you saw  _ what _ ?” The officer asked, leaning into his desk.

“I’m telling you, it’s  _ her _ ! She’s _ here _ !” The receptionist pointed out the door for emphasis, and the officer followed the finger and jumped back upon seeing who stood just out of the door.

“Oh, you’re talking about me? I am in fact here.” Yuuka gave a slight bow in introduction, but of course it did nothing to alleviate the fears in the room.

The receptionist backed up towards the wall, stammering. “W- why are you here? What do you w- want?”

“How rude!” Yuuka stepped across the threshold into the room, prompting both of them to step further back into towards their respective corners. “I’m only here to return something…” she reached into her pocket to reveal the small camera that Watanabe had carried into her home and placed it on the officer’s desk. “I believe this is yours.” Then, satisfied, she turned and left the office.

Once she was gone, the officer reached over to pick up the camera off the desk. “This is… no way…”

“W- What is that?” The receptionist asked. 

“It’s…” The officer quickly plugged it into his computer, and selected the video recording from the menu that appeared on the screen.

**_“That is… well it’s certainly hard to miss…”_** The voice of Watanabe came through the speakers—somewhat obscured by the static created by said speakers’ age. Not caring to watch through the entirety of this video, the officer scrolled towards the end of the recording. When his finger came off the mouse, he was greeted by the sight of red eyes—staring directly at the viewer with a smile far more vicious and wicked than anything the officer had ever cared to see in his life. The demon’s voice came through the speakers loud and clear. **_“Show me your fear!_** **”** What followed afterwards was a display of cruelty on a level the officer and receptionist couldn’t have even imagined possible, much less had had the words to describe. There was no longer any doubt about the fate of the two detectives who had been in this same office but mere hours ago.

“Holy…” The officer quickly turned off the video and stepped away from the computer. He exchanged a look with the equally startled receptionist. “This… get on the phone… This can’t stay a secret.”

* * *

Yuuka, after stopping by her house to wash off and get a change of clothes, went back to her favorite spot in the  _ Land of Fantasies _ to lay down. She walked up next to the cherry tree atop the hill—the one that still bloomed under her influence after all these years. As if responding to her approach, a strong gust of wind caused the tree’s branches to wave in her direction, prompting Yuuka to wave in return. “Hey dad…” She said as she calmly approached the tree and gently grabbed the end of one of its branches. “I see you’re doing as fine as usual. I’m glad. I… I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you again… You’ve always been the only thing I can count on.”

She released the branch and turned around to sit down. She sat under the tree’s shade facing the majestic valley with her back supported by the trunk. “A sight for sore eyes, huh?” She sighed as she placed her (freshly cleaned) parasol beside her on the grass. “I wish I could just stay here forever… but I can’t risk it, can I? I’ve got to go out there and keep doing this. If what that Yukari woman said is true… my longevity requires some… sacrifices.”

She let out a sharp laugh as she directed her gaze upwards towards the branches that provided her shade. “Funny, isn’t it? She was trying to tell me to  _ stop _ , and yet she tells me we can only live on the fear of humans… it’s obvious what I have to do, right? And to think you hated those rumors when you were alive… I just hope the panic from this last… endeavor… will last me a good while.”

Her train of thought was interrupted by another voice reaching her ear. “An endeavor, huh? So that’s what the kids are calling it these days.” Yuuka turned her head to the side to see, surprising no one, Yukari was suddenly standing beside her, fanning herself with a small hand fan. What  _ was _ surprising, although neither of them bothered to comment on it, was the fact that said hand fan was a modern, motorized model.

“Tch, you again…” Yuuka spat, her mood soured by the older youkai’s sudden arrival.

“Me again.” Yukari smiled, holding the fan in front of her face—something that would have looked elegant and mysterious had it been any other kind of fan.

“You know, there are only three things in this world that are certain in this world.” Yuuka held up three fingers for emphasis. “Death, taxes, and the fact that you will inevitably appear at the worst possible times.”

“Then you have much to learn, young one.” Yukari turned her fan to the highest setting. It may have been for dramatic effect, but the result was more comical than dramatic in more ways than one. “After all, I haven’t paid taxes in a thousand years!”

“You could pay our national debt with that much in back taxes…” Yuuka started to respond before a realization hit her. “Oh, why am I even humoring you? Get lost!”

“Oh?” Yukari, now deciding to be somewhat more serious, had somehow replaced the fan with a more traditional folding variety. “I’m surprised, really. For how well you’ve… accepted the concept of being a youkai, you’ve still got a lot to learn.” She folded up the new fan and pointed it towards Yuuka in one fluid motion. “In the world of monsters and legends, there is no such thing as the human concept of ‘certainty.’ If people say it will happen, it will. That’s how it works around here. Of course the laws of physics are the first things to go.” Suddenly, she was holding an apple in her other hand. With a slight toss, she sent the apple upwards and watched it float into the sky, unaffected by gravity.

“I don’t see how that changes anything.” Yuuka averted her gaze, unfazed by the little demonstration. “In the end, life is just a competition of who can survive the longest. That much is as true for humans as it is for us. I’m sure someone of your age is familiar with natural selection at least.”

“Natural selction? Perhaps. There is certainly a correlation between power and survival like in the natural world. Aside from the fact that there’s nothing natural about us.” Yukari chuckled slightly at the thought. Then she continued under her breath. “Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. You are a youkai of nature, after all.”

Yuuka caught that last bit and swerved back around to look her in the eye. “What did you just say? Are you saying you know something I don’t?”

“I know lots of things that you don’t, that should hardly be a surprise.” She smiled slyly, while Yuuka harshened her gaze. “Oh, don’t you look angry… did you eat something bad?”

“Don’t give me that! You know what I’m talking about!” Yuuka shouted. “What was that you were saying about me? What do you know? Tell me everything!” She got up from the ground and leapt towards Yukari, fiercely grabbing her shoulders with both hands.

Yukari simply allowed herself to be shook. “My, aren’t you full of energy today?” She chuckled, and soon found Yuuka’s fingers tighten their grasp, starting to dig into her shoulders. “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you!” She let her face show a more serious expression as she began speaking: “It all started when I was born…”

“The part that I actually care about, if you don’t mind…” Yuuka hissed, tightening her grip even further.

“Of course, of course.” Yukari said dismissively. “You, my friend… are possibly the most violent youkai I’ve met in centuries.”

“You…! I’ve had enough of your talk! You always come in here, step on  _ my _ land, and dare to deliver insult after insult in front of my father! You know damn well why I do what I do, and don’t you dare act like you’re better than me!” Yuuka then threw all of her weight onto Yukari, hoping to bring her down and pin her to the ground. Instead, she found herself falling face-first into the ground, with the older youkai nowhere in sight.

“Oh dear, that must have hurt…” Yuuka snapped her head up to see Yukari standing behind her, chuckling behind her little fan. “Just jumping on the ground… kids do the darndest things.”

“You…!” Yuuka rose to her feet and lunged at her again. On the way, she picked her parasol off of the ground and swung it behind her head. “Stop mocking me! You want to see violent? I’ll show you violent!” She pulled her arm forwards, bringing the parasol down onto Yukari’s head. As she did, she felt something heavy and solid smack into her own head at high speed. “Argh…!” She winced from the impact, feeling a sort of pain she’s only felt a handful of times before.

She looked up, expecting to see Yukari brandishing a weapon now. Instead, Yukari stood just as she had before, calmly fanning herself. Between the two of them, she noticed a pair of black voids—as if someone had opened a gap in the very fabric of space. Her arm seemed to enter one, and out of the other came her parasol, positioned directly above her head.

Enraged, Yuuka drew her hand back and went for another swing. Then another, and another. Each one only ended up damaging herself in the same part of the body that she intended to hit Yukari in. “Damn you!” She shouted as she started to falter from the damage she was causing to herself.

“Hmm? Why are you hitting yourself?” Yukari said, as if she were a child picking on a smaller child on the playground.

“Ngh…!” Yuuka grunted as she continued to stand tall, despite the bruises all over her body. “I’ve had enough of you!” She decided to change her strategy, and summoned a flower to bloom out of the palm of her hand. It was a rose—but the plant as a whole was far more thorn than rose. Its stem started to lengthen and spiral around her arm as if it were a snake; her forearm was soon covered in thorns that dug into her skin, drawing blood. That blood was quickly absorbed by the plant, and the plant grew in both length and width, extending past her arm.

Yukari’s eyes widened in curiosity as the rope of thorns began to encircle her, at first keeping a moderate distance away. As it passed over a patch of ground, more similar plants began to sprout from the ground beneath. Those grew to join up with the larger one Yuuka was holding to form an organic cage around the older youkai. When the plants met, Yuuka was then able to transfer energy through the larger rope to each one, strengthening the whole cage to the consistency of steel. “Oh dear,” Yukari said, her voice not showing an abundance of concern. “It looks like I’ve been trapped.”

Yuuka did not respond, wordlessly willing the ‘cage’ to tighten, and as it did, the plants came close enough together that she could no longer see inside. Still, confident she had her target immobilized, Yuuka readied her weapon and thrust it through, willing the ‘bars’ to separate in one spot just enough for the tip of the parasol to pass through and stab whatever was inside. “Let’s see you dodge this!” She shouted as she thrust the parasol with all her strength through the opening.

“I think you should take your own advice.” As it passed through, she heard Yukari’s voice. It was not coming from within the entrapment. “You definitely need to work on your dodging.” By the time Yuuka registered the meaning of those words, however, it was too late.

“Gah…!” She fell to her knees as a blinding pain manifested itself in her abdomen. She looked down to find the tip of her parasol sticking out from her stomach, with the rest of it either in her or behind her. Ordinarily, she would not have to worry much about something like this, but this wasn’t an attack from a normal human—this was damage she caused by her own hand. She filled her attack with the intent to harm a youkai, so of course it was not pleasant for her. “…you…!”

“And let this be a lesson to you.” Yukari appeared in front of her eyes, squatting to get onto her level like a mother scolding her child. Yukari, for her part, was perfectly unscathed, the white parts of her robe completely without stain and her complexion without harm. “You cannot solve all your problems by beating them up. That’s not now the human world works, and it’s not how ours works either. Besides…” She grabbed the parasol’s tip that poked out from Yuuka’s stomach. “You’re not invincible.” She gave the bloodied parasol a sharp tug, pulling it all the way through, the wide part wreaking even more devastation on Yuuka’s internal organs. “You’re still weak.”

Yukari wiped the blood off of the parasol and then set it down, leaning against the tree. At the same time, Yuuka collapsed on the ground. As she was, it was impossible to tell where her red clothes ended, and the pool of her own blood began. “…I’m… not…!” She tried to say, in between gasps, but little was coming through.

“Don’t worry, you’ll recover.” Yukari said as she turned her back away. “And when you do, I’ll be waiting. Then, I hope we can continue this discussion in a more… civilized manner.” And with that remark, she walked away, disappearing in the distance and leaving Yuuka alone, bleeding beneath the tree of her father.

“…I’m… not… weak!”

* * *

A few days later, a woman in a suit stood on a podium in front of a crowd of around three hundred people. The woman was of hardly any importance while those people, nearly the town’s entire population, were assembled in the largest auditorium the town contained. On the average day, it was a normal gymnasium, but add enough folding chairs and makeshift benches and you’ve got a perfectly serviceable auditorium. “And now,” The woman, the MC of this event, stepped slightly to the side of the podium as she extended her arm towards the other side of the room where a man stood. “The mayor of our fine town would like to deliver some remarks.”

To restrained applause, the mayor approached the podium while the woman stepped aside. The mayor carried a small stack of papers which he spread onto the podium as he arrived. After a few seconds of silence, he slipped on a pair of glasses and began speaking, eyes focused on the paper the whole time. “Ahem… I am… honored to speak before you tonight… As I am sure you are aware… we are gathered today… to commemorate our humble town’s… middle school… for receiving the prefectural award… for academic… excellence. It is the first time… in the school’s fifty… five year history… that it has earned… this award. I am very proud… of all our students and teachers… for this… accomplishment… education is very… important for the… future of… our nation…” The mayor plodded through his speech, never able to go a full sentence without referring to his script.

The event was, as with just about everything in this sleepy town, not very exciting. It was days like this that always made the townspeople question why they elected such a boring person as their mayor, and yet they continue to do exactly that year after year. Perhaps some divine force empathized with their struggle, because in the middle of the mayor’s speech, a particular housewife stood up and turned the room on its head. “What about the  _ real _ problem, mayor!?” The mayor stopped his speech and looked up, as everyone in the room turned to face the housewife who stood in the back of the room.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Tanaka, but what is this… real problem you refer to?” The mayor asked her directly. In a town as small as this one, it wasn’t unusal for a local politician to be familiar with a large portion of the population and be able to refer to them by name.

“You know what I’m talking about!” Mrs. Tanaka shouted back. “How are we supposed to care about education when there’s a demon running around our town, doing whatever it wants!? Why should we worry about the ‘future of our nation’ when we can’t even know if our kids will come home alive every day?”

“Please calm down, Mrs. Tanaka, I’m sure—” The mayor tried to placate her concerns, but to no avail.

“Calm down!? You want be to calm down!? Thanks to this demon, my husband is dead and my children are scarred for life, and years after that happened, what have you done? _ Nothing _ !” Mrs. Tanaka extended her arm and pointed her finger towards the mayor in an accusatory gesture. “And now it’s back for more! What makes you think we can trust you!?”

“Yeah!” on the other side of the room, another housewife stood up. “I’ve always been saying we should get rid of that kid since day one, but  _ nooooo _ , you all were  _ so sure _ it would be fine! Now, thanks to you, my son is  _ dead _ ! What do you have to say to that!?”

Soon the repurposed gymnasium was filled with a chorus of voices: mothers and fathers, friends and classmates, all clamoring for answers and demanding retribution. In the sea of demands, the mayor backed away from the podium, unable to handle the pressure. “Please… please calm down! I understand your concerns… and I assure you that we are doing everything in our power to…”

“I don’t need your assurance!” One of them shouted. “I need answers! Why did you let them die!?”

“My beautiful daughter!”

“My wonderful son!”

“My beloved husband!”

“ _ What are the police doing!? _ ”

The mayor realized the situation had long since escaped his control; nothing he could say would make the situation any better. ‘ _ What are the police doing’ _ he repeated the question to himself. It was a question for which he knew the answer, and knew that answer would only make things worse. ‘ _ How am I supposed to answer to this…? _ ’ He wondered.

Rather than answer, the mayor tried to make a strategic retreat, slipping away in the confusion. As he left, a few final remarks reached his ears from the screaming crowd. Most notable was a man who asked the question that was on everyone’s minds:

“ _ Why is Kazami Yuuka still alive!? _ ”

* * *

While she may not have known it, it was that question that saved her life. Those people at the assembly may never know the irony of how, in their collective wish for the opposite, their panic and fear ensured the survival of the demon they so despised.

Four days after she collapsed on the ground, Yuuka’s eyes snapped open. Above her, the cherry tree still stood, still blooming. It would take a while for her to notice, however, was that it did not seem to be blooming quite as magnificently as it had been. “Ngh…” She grunted as she sat up, still feeling sore from her injuries. “Where am… oh right. Damn that old hag!” It did not take her long to remember what had brought her to this state.

She turned her head towards the tree. “How dare she! To mock me before the eyes of my father! Has she no tact!?” Her little tirade was cut off by a sharp pain in her abdomen. “Argh…!” She doubled over, still feeling the effects of the previous battle. “Sorry you had to see that…” She said to the tree.

Carefully, she brought herself to stand and look around her. Surrounding her, the roses she had used in that battle had taken root, and with her nearby, had grown to cover the ground in a small sea of blood-red flowers. “Hmm… at least there’s one good thing that came out of that… Still, ngh…” She mumbled to herself as she picked up her parasol and opened it above her. “I need to take a walk; clear my head.”

Under the shade of her parasol, Yuuka wandered off, down the slope and into the valley that made up the majority of this  _ Land of Fantasies _ . She strolled past the wildflowers that grew all over, admiring their masterful arrangement, as if a skilled forest had arranged the entire valley as an oversized bouquet. “Heh, that might even be possible… I know dad did use this to woo that  _ woman _ .” Yuuka responded to her own thoughts aloud. “Speaking of him… I guess now is a as good a time ever, isn’t it?” She said to herself as she eyed the hillside that formed the other side of the valley. “Why not? I think it may answer some of my questions anyways.”

With her mind made up, Yuuka pushed onwards, scaling the hillside at her usual leisurely pace. The flora on this hillside did seem somewhat less ideal than that on the other: there were a good number of plants she could see with thorns, poison, or other things that would discourage an unprepared human from venturing here. Yuuka, however, always had her power to rely on: she could simply will the offending plants out of her path, leaving her skirt rip-free and preventing agitation of the wounds she already had to deal with. After a short while, who knows how long, she managed to scale the whole hill and see what was beyond it.

In the distance, she saw a valley much like the one that contained the town she had spent her whole life in. This confirmed her theory that the topography here mirrored that of the real world. However, unlike the real world, none of the buildings or farms were to be seen. For miles, all she could see was what nature had intended for the land. For some reason, this made her incredibly happy… and proud, as if this was how things were  _ supposed _ to look.

That was, as long as she didn’t look directly down. When she did, that happy feeling immediately melted away, replaced by a mix of anger and curiosity. Directly at the foot of the hill was a house, built in the western style. “What the…! What is that!?” Eager to find out, Yuuka folded up her parasol and ran down the hill. There were obstructions along the way, but she used her ability to push them out of the way, clearing a straight path between her and the strange building. Even trees that stood in her way were moved. She was sure she couldn’t just move trees, and all their roots, like that before, but she didn’t pay it much mind.

In no time at all, she arrived at the bottom. The exertion should have agitated her wounds, but it appeared they had already healed, so Yuuka just moved on to examining the house. As she had observed earlier, it looked more western than Japanese, so it would stand out even were it located in the real world. On the roof, she noted, were a handful of wires hanging down that seemed to connect to nothing. Similarly, there was a driveway, but no road to connect to. “Hmm… It’s like someone just took a house from the real world and put it here… They didn’t even bother to disconnect the power lines first.”

Cautiously, she walked up towards the front door and placed her hand on the knob. She hesitated for a second, but then continued, encouraging herself by saying: “It’s not like there’s going to be someone in here.” So she twisted the knob and pulled the door open. Behind the door, the first thing that caught her eye was a massive painting that hung above the mantle.

“…Oh, that explains it.” In the center of the painting stood the image of Yakumo Yukari, with her trademark robe and fan. “Gh… Just looking at that face pisses me off. How dare she just waltz on into  _ my _ land and defile it with this monument to her own ego!” She marched up to the painting, but just before she was going to punch a hole in that smug face, she noticed something else about it that bothered her. “But… who are these two? She never said anything about them… They look a little… furry. Some of her old youkai friends?”

“You could say that…” Yuuka jumped as she heard a voice behind her. A voice that, naturally, belonged to none other than Yukari herself. “But more than that, those two are… were… my family.”

“Your family?” Yuuka forced out a laugh at that. A laugh that mostly served to say ‘I’m not scared of you, come at me’ rather than any actual comedy. “Sorry to break it to you, but they look nothing like you.”

“Does your family look anything like  _ you _ ?” Yukari replied, stepping past her towards the painting. “And there is more than one way to make a family. But I will tell you, I’ve lived a long time, and seen many families, but none were better than these two… If I have any regrets, it’s not being able to save them.”

“Oh, so it’s your fault they’re dead?” Yuuka said.

“You… could say that.” Yukari admitted, her voice much more solemn and sobering than usual. “I didn’t think so at the time, but you proved me wrong.”

Yuuka was taken aback by her words. “Me? What did I do?”

“This.” Yukari made a sweeping gesture towards the sky. “This world, I mean. Can you feel it? The pure air, the latent magic… it’s everything I would have needed. Everything we need to survive. And had I known it was possible… I could have done it.”

“…So?” Yuuka, having never met the ‘others’ Yukari was referring to, was not terribly moved. “If you can make your own, what are you doing in  _ my _ world?”

“Hm? Why would I? This one works just fine.” Yukari answered, the mood somewhat lightening. “Besides, you know you can’t do anything about it.” She flashed a smile that said ‘ _ you don’t stand a chance againt me _ ’ “You’re a thousand years too early.”

“Hmph.” Yuuka crossed her arms and huffed.

“Oh, did I upset you?” Yukari asked, her patronizing only serving to make the green-haired youkai even angrier. “I will say that you are very strong, so strong unheard of for a youkai of your age, if you hit me I might be in serious trouble. But there is much that you lack.”

“What is this, some kind of lecture?”

“Exactly.” Yukari raised a pointed finger in an affirmative gesture. “I see you’ve got some observational skills, but clearly not enough. When we fought four days ago—”

“—Four days ago? That’s not—”

“Yes, it’s true. You were unconscious.” Yukari waved her hand to dismiss the other’s concerns. Then her face became more serious, urging Yuuka to listen to what she had to say, whether she wanted to or not. “If there are no more interruptions, I was trying to tell you something. You are strong, very strong, but as you saw, strength alone will accomplish nothing. However much you believe the opposite, you  _ can _ be killed, and if you don’t realize that, you  _ will _ . I have seen many foolish youkai like you in my days, and they always follow one of two paths: One, they wisen up and learn to survive like the rest of us, or two, they rush headlong into danger, and pay the price.”

“Like the rest of you? And how did that work out for them, huh?”

“…Yes, the issue of faith and fear has always been a concern for even the oldest and wisest among us. However, no matter how widely people believe in you, if you’re killed, it’s over. My closest friends… many of them lasted a thousand years. If you keep on this path, however, I’m not sure you’ll live to twenty.”

“Oh wow, such faith you have in my abilities. You don’t think I can last just four years? Or do you just enjoy insulting me and everything I stand for without end?” Yuuka narrowed her eyes at Yukari, the red irises seeming to glow in her ire. “So, oh mighty ancient demon, what is your plan for ‘wisening up’?”

Yukari smiled. “I’m glad you asked!” To Yuuka’s displeasure, Yukari forcefully grabbed her hand. Even with all her strength, she found it difficult to break free from this grip as she felt herself be pulled through a void that had not been there a second prior. The same kind of void that had appeared to deflect her blows in their battle.


	4. Answers

When she finally managed to break out of Yukari’s grasp, she was in a vastly different place than before. On three sides, tall concrete walls surrounded her, and below her feet was a carpet of asphalt. All over, pipes and wires stretched from one place to another, wandering aimlessly up the walls. Aside from herself and her ‘companion,’ she saw no signs of life in this dejected alleyway. Rather than the vibrant colors of her domain, or even the country town, this place had merely a one-color pallet: covered in gray in every direction. “Augh… this place sickens me…”

“I will admit it’s not the most glamorous place, but that’s lesson number one: if you’re going to survive, then you have to learn to swallow your pride and accept things you don’t like.” While saying this, Yukari slowly stepped back through her ‘portal’ and by now only had her head sticking out. “All I want you to do is walk around… take your time and remember: no killing people today.” With that, her head, too, slipped out of sight and the gap closed, leaving Yuuka alone in the alley.

“…I hate that woman.”

“I heard that!” Yukari, despite no longer being present, could still be heard. Yuuka silently cursed her fate; she would have to play along with the woman’s whims as long as she was under this kind of surveillance.

No better option available, Yuuka turned towards the opening and strolled out of the alley onto the main street. Here, things looked a little more lively: a flood of people walking along the sidewalks, some dressed in suits, some in school uniforms, but it still appeared to the young youkai as more of the same lifeless gray. Despite all of the people, they all moved back and forth without energy. And, more gravely, there was still not a single bit of green to be seen.

As they walked near her, she could hear the whispering of the passerbys. Unlike in her country town, she was surprised to note that not one of them even so much as mentioned her, even as they passed within inches of the green-haired demon.

“Hey, did you hear that thing about China? Scary isn’t it?” One student said to their friend.

“Don’t worry about it; I’m sure there won’t actually be a war. It’s just the media freaking out like usual.” Said friend responded.

“But what if there is?”

Yuuka noticed that the two of them were now right in front of her, so she decided to interject into their conversation. “Then you’ll be dead.” She said, baring her teeth as she caught the attention of the two students. One of them stopped to look at her, but counter to her expectations, simply gave her a weird look and then moved on. The other, the one that she had been trying to scare, never even noticed her presence. She watched them for a moment as they kept walking, completely unbothered by her presence until they disappeared into the crowd.

“So that’s what she meant about the loss of faith…” Dejected, Yuuka decided to move onwards, perhaps in hope of finding something that would be worthwhile. She deployed her parasol and began walking down the sidewalk in a random direction. She made a point of being as forceful as possible in pushing people out of her way as she walked. Yet still, even with everything she thought should have made her stand out, the passing citizens continued to ignore her presence.

To her dismay, it appeared that, for the people of this city, she was considered  _ normal _ . In appearance, and in mannerisms. While she may not resemble the average citizen, in a city of this size, everyone had seen such a person before.

As she walked, she felt more and more repulsed by this place, its people and its environment. Her only respite was the occasional tree that someone thought would be fashionable to place in the median, putting that little bit of needed color in the gray landscape. But while she may have found comfort in that, it was hardly enough to satisfy her. Still, she walked onwards, aimlessly.

As she walked, she made a point to listen to the conversations of those who walked by her. Why she was here was beyond her, but she decided to use this opportunity to get a gauge on what people were most afraid of—If the passerbys weren’t afraid of her, then what  _ did _ scare them? Many only seemed to be concerned about mundane things: work, school, or family. Of those who did discuss their fears, the most interesting were those who, like the students earlier, were concerned about some certain current events. Perhaps it may simply be because it’s what is newest on the public conscious, but if you take their word for it, the clouds of war are looming on the horizon.

As unlikely a prospect it was from a rational perspective—such a conflict would likely result in far greater costs than either side was willing to endure—it was almost comforting to her. It was proof that, even in this modern age that prized itself on reason, an irrational fear could take hold of the populace. However, as Yukari had said, such fears seemed to be aimed not towards the unexplainable, but towards their fellow man.

_ ‘Hardly the end of the line… If anything, it’s proof I can be successful.’ _ Yuuka thought to herself as she wandered through the throngs of people.  _ ‘What that old hag doesn’t understand, is that they still  _ **_can_ ** _ fear us. That little town should be proof enough—they’ve gone crazy over me ever since I was born.’ _ She noticed that, up ahead, the road opened up into a large intersection. As she approached it, she continued her train of thought.  _ ‘Yes, people no longer fear the unexplained… but that is only because it is no longer unexplained. A youkai of darkness may die if humans conquer the night… but in doing so… they have forgotten what they are. I have not.’ _

Rather than cross as she reached the intersection, she stood still and watched as the crowds shuffled across, filling the whole road with a mass of humanity.  _ ‘Yukari… I know that woman’s always obsessed with who I am, what I represent. Maybe I’m a flower youkai, maybe I’m something different… nature as a whole? Who knows. What is important—what she doesn’t get—is that I am a youkai, a  _ **_demon_ ** _. I don’t need people to fear what I represent…’ _

_ ‘I need them to fear  _ **_me_ ** _.’ _

Her resolve steeled, Yuuka took an account of her surroundings. This intersection, with its bustling crowds and tall buildings, could be none other than the famous scramble crossing of Shibuya ward. Across from her, on the other side of the crossing, she saw a group of people holding signs and shouting slogans—a protest, and when there’s a protest, a news crew can’t be far away. Not a bad opportunity to stir up some trouble, then.

Despite the fact that the light had long since changed and cars now drove across the intersection in all directions, Yuuka stepped into the road, calmly walking across the asphalt. A chorus of car horns sounded in the air as drivers slammed on their brakes and swerved, desperate not to hit the unexpected pedestrian or each other. They only had moderate success, as the sound of horns was soon replaced by the sound of metal scraping against metal. Thankfully for them, the traffic was bad enough that the whole debacle was resolved with no fatalities among the drivers. The damage was only to their wallets.

_ ‘She did say I couldn’t kill anyone today…’ _

Yuuka ignored the crash and kept on walking, strolling all the way across the intersection until she reached the small area on the other side where the picketing crowd had gathered in front of the statue of the loyal dog Hachiko. Said crowd, once confident the accident had been not too serious, had gone back to their protest. From this distance, she could now see that the protestors were demanding government action on environmental issues. Their use of the tired old lines like “No more coal!” and even the classic “Save the Earth!” made that an easy deduction.

Despite her brazen action that should have called attention to herself, a significant portion of them had their backs turned away from her—facing towards the statue and the station—so naturally she decided to sneak up on them. She selected a pair of women who stood towards the edge of the protest group and walked up to them. Once directly behind them, she spoke up. Normally, but mere inches from their ears. “Good Afternoon, ladies.”

“WAH!” One of them yelped as she turned around to see who was behind them. Once she did, she—again to Yuuka’s dismay—quickly regained her composure rather than recognizing her as a demon as was planned. “Oh, I’m so sorry! You scared me!” She bowed in apology.

“Oh, it’s no problem. I have that effect on people a lot.” Yuuka replied, twirling her parasol in an attempt to convey her chosen refined-but-threatening image.

“By the way…” It was clear that this woman was willing to drop everything she was doing to have a conversation with a random stranger. Perhaps there’s something to be gained from having a little chat. “I didn’t know there was some sort of event today. What kind of cosplay is that?”

_ ‘Cosplay… Ah, right, so that’s why these city people haven’t questioned my presence at all…’ _ Yuuka thought to herself briefly before replying. “Well, If I must tell you—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Yuuka was cut off by the woman’s friend, who enthusiastically jumped into the conversation. “Ooh, I know this one!” Both of them snapped their faces towards her, and she continued. “You’re supposed to be that ‘Demon of Nagano,’ aren’t you!? The umbrella totally gave it away! But wow… that video only showed up a few days ago, and you’ve already got it down pat!”

The first, taller woman, gave her friend a confused look. “What are you talking about? Is this another one of your occult things?”

The shorter woman responded with a smile. “Oh yeah, the ‘Demon of Nagano’ is all the rage on the forums these days! Legend has it, there’s a girl somewhere out in the country who looks almost normal and lures you in with a beautiful flower field, but get too close and she’ll  _ eat your soul _ , and then use your body to fertilize her field!” She told the story in the same way that a teenager would tell a ghost story during a sleepover—fake claw-hands and all. “And then—!” She raised her finger to prevent the other two from interrupting as she continued. “Just a few days ago, a video came out, supposedly showing her doing exactly that!”

“Oh, I get it…” The taller woman hummed. “And in a few weeks, they’re gonna reveal this is all a promotion for an upcoming horror film or something like that, right?”

“Yeah, I figure it’s something like that.” The shorter woman answered.

_ ‘Well… So much for the legend spreading. I had hoped that video would inspire a little more faith than that.’ _ Yuuka thought as the two continued to talk between themselves, seemingly ignoring her presence.  _ ‘Is it just me that gets ignored all the time? Or do city people really just have that short of an attention span?’ _

The taller woman noticed her annoyed look and apologized again. “Oh, I’m so sorry, we got so carried away I totally forgot you were there!” She bowed again. “Anyways, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, no, it’s perfectly fine.” Yuuka fixed her expression so the annoyance no longer was outwardly visible. “I wanted to ask you about this protest here. What exactly are you protesting? What is the scare that made you all come out here?” She defaulted to her initial plan of information gathering. It was, after all, strange that such a demonstration could appear with no apparent impetus.

“Oh, well I’m glad you asked!” The taller woman smiled at her line of questioning. “You know how everyone’s been making such a big fuss about the whole China thing lately? Well, we all know that there’s not going to be a war—no one’s that stupid. That’s why we’re protesting: to make sure our government and people remember what the  _ real _ threat is!”

“And that threat… is global warming.” Yuuka completed the thought as a way of showing her understanding as well as maintaining control of the conversation.

“Exactly! All this talk from politicians and the news about war is only to distract us from the destruction that is happening to our environment every single day!” The taller woman said, her tone of voice becoming louder and more passionate with every word. “Everyone’s worried about humanity destroying itself in a nuclear war when it’s far more likely—”

“That humans will end up destroying the whole Earth?” Yuuka completed the thought again.

“Well—” The shorter woman interjected. “That’s not exactly it. No matter what we do, the Earth will be fine. Life will, in some form, continue regardless, even if it’s just microbes left.” She attempted to give her own, more pedantic, explanation of the threat she saw. “The problem is that if we continue on the same course, the Earth will become inhospitable for humans to live on. Humans can’t necessarily kill nature completely—but nature can and will kill us, and when it does, we will have only ourselves to blame.”

“So what you’re saying is—you’re afraid that humanity cannot beat nature, and that a natural calamity, born from humanity, will be the thing that brings doom?” Yuuka summarized their explanations, and then began to step away, giving them no time to respond or continue the conversation. “Thank you for the help, ladies. I much appreciate it.” She walked away from them towards the front of the crowd. 

There, in front of them all, stood the news crew that was covering the event. Directly in front of the camera stood a reporter holding a large microphone. “Good evening, this is channel 4 news, reporting live from Shibuya. as you can see behind me, quite a few people have turned up for today’s environment protest—” It appeared, from the reporter’s speech, they had just begun the broadcast… and a live one to boot. “Let’s see what some of them have to say.” The reporter turned around and looked for the nearest person to interview; thanks to some strategic placement, that happened to be Yuuka, standing just over an arm’s length away. “Ah, you there! Do you mind taking a moment to share your thoughts with us?”

“Why, of course. Ask away.” Yuuka smiled, twirling her parasol over her shoulder.

“You don’t look like you’re part of that group, so I’d like to know what you think about this protest. Do you think their concerns are valid?” The reporter asked, before pushing the microphone into her face.

“I must say I agree with them.” Yuuka said. “Humans these days are afraid of the wrong things, and ignore the greater threat—”

“But what about the threat of war that everyone’s talking about?” The reporter interrupted her and offered a counter-argument largely for the sake of discussion. “Is that not the more pressing concern? It’s not like climate change will kill us all tomorrow or something, is it?”

“Ah, but that is where the protestors—and yourself—are both wrong. You see…” Yuuka smirked, showing teeth. “What you should be afraid of… is  _ me _ .”

The reporter started to laugh at what he thought was just an absurdist joke, but that laughter soon died off in the light of what was happening before their eyes. Yuuka decided to attempt something she’d never tried before. With her power, she forced plant matter to emerge from her body, but rather than from her hands, it emerged from her shoulder blades. She formed the material into a pair of large, crude wings that doubled the size of her silhouette and, through their crudeness, would inspire even more terror.  _ ‘Hmm… I’ll have to work on that later… oh well.’  _ She thought as she folded her parasol and brought it to bear.

Suddenly, all sound around her stopped. All those people that had been filming, protesting, or even just going about their business, halted dead in their tracks: all eyes fixed on the young youkai and her new set of wings. “Oh, now you take me seriously? How novel.” As they stared at her, she felt a jolt through her body. Power began to flow through her veins as the whole country bore witness to her presence. Emboldened by this newfound strength, she felt herself able to do things she couldn’t have come close to before.

Slowly, she started to channel that energy into her makeshift wings, and as she did, they began to fill out. Now, her loose frame of plant matter had become a magnificent pair of green wings with a smaller, purple pair sprouting lower on her back. Both pairs began to flap slowly, and the camera followed her as she soared upwards above the crowd. “War? Don’t make me laugh! You’re afraid of nukes? I’ll show you something far worse!” She taunted, making sure everyone below could hear her voice.

With a swipe of her hand, cracks appeared all over the asphalt. Once more, and the road was nearly disintegrated as the stalk of a sunflower rose from every crack. Not any ordinary flowers, of course, any cars that were on the road were pulverized as these flowers shot straight through the frames and engine blocks. Those cars that had crashed earlier no longer had any hope of repair, nor did anything unlucky enough to be crossing through when the Shibuya Scramble suddenly was turned into a field of flowers.

_ ‘I hope mom is watching this, from whatever corner of hell she’s in—I always deliver on my promises.’ _ She thought, remembering her last encounter with the last member of her supposed ‘family’  _ ‘I have never felt as free in my life.’ _ She sent out another wave of energy, this time summoning massive, oversize trees at various points around the intersection. The façade of nearby buildings was now dominated by these trees growing into their walls, and the station square just became the country’s newest arboretum. The famous statue of loyal Hachiko—torn asunder as the trunk of a cherry tree materialized in its place.

“Watch! As the symbols of humanity’s disgusting excess and arrogance are destroyed! Humans cannot win against nature, and the will  _ never _ win against  **me** !” She proclaimed, spreading her wings open to present the most imposing image. “Come! Bring your worst! I’ll show you what true fear looks like!” As she spoke, more and more plants began to sprout in the intersection and surrounding areas. Each new bit of flora looked more imposing and revolting than the last. What had previously been the busiest part of one of the most popular wards in Tokyo had, in a few short minutes, become like something straight out of a post-apocalyptic horror.

Most of the humans around, including those women from earlier, had long since run off to safety, but the news crew remained, bravely filming in order to capture the destruction of Shibuya and relay it to the world in real time. “Whatever happens, hold your ground!” The reporter shouted to the camera crew. “The whole world is counting on us to keep filming!” Then, to the camera itself. “What you’re looking at here is the story of the century! We’re still not quite sure who this person is, but whoever it is, they’re a fearsome being indeed!”

As the reporter addressed the camera, Yuuka decided to descend down behind them, holding her parasol at the ready. “Too bad you won’t be able to collect your prize.” She said, directly into the reporter’s ear. Said reporter jumped in shock, but it was too late—Yuuka had already committed to the attack, sending her parasol forwards like a spear. It broke through the reporter’s clothes, and the skin on their back, but before it could pierce any vital organs…

Yuuka disappeared in a flash of blackness.

She wound up back on the floor of her own home in the country, with Yukari standing over her. “I told you; no killing.”

“…Damn you…!”

* * *

The day after her excursion to Tokyo, Yuuka was back in her field, tending to it as she always had. In many ways, it was the same routine as before, but with her newfound powers, things have changed. With her wings, she could fly over the field and get a good vantage point over the whole thing. That inspired her to rework it so it will look perfect from the air as well as the ground. For a field as large as hers had gotten, it would take a normal human at least a year to reorganize it in the way she imagined. With her power, however, she could now make intricate patterns of flowers with almost no effort at all.

“Humans and cities, huh?” She wondered to herself as she floated over her fields. “Two things I hate more than anything… I guess they have some use after all.” She descended from the sky onto the branches of a tree that bloomed through the roof of her house. As she settled onto a limb, she grabbed an apple off of one of the branches and began talking to it. “I must thank you, mother. If you had been a better person, I would have let all this potential go to waste.” She took a large bite of the apple. “Mmm… and this taste never fails to disappoint, just like you.”

She threw the apple away and jumped down into the flower fields. She walked between the stalks of flowers many times taller than they should be, and each one turned its ‘head’ towards her as she walked. “Good morning my babies! I see you’re all doing well today.” She smiled, the closest to a genuine smile in a long time. For once in her life, everything was going her way, and she was finally free to do whatever she wanted. Sure, there was that one woman to worry about, but now, she felt confident she could take her.

However, her smile soon turned into a look of curiosity, as she saw something blooming on the horizon. It approached with the same grace and elegance as one of her flowers, but unlike those flowers that were filled with life, this one smelled of death. A white parasol, looking much like her own, but far more beaten down by the passing of time.

Brushing it off as unimportant to her, she went back to work tending the flowers, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of purple cloth moving beneath the umbrella.  _ ‘Of course she’s here _ ,’ Yuuka glared at the incoming woman with no shortness of ire.  _ ‘What does she want now?’ _

Uncharacteristically, that woman did not speak a single word as she approached. Or perhaps it was perfectly in line with her character; Yuuka did not know nor desire to know enough about her to tell.

However, the trail of trampled and dying flowers she left in her path was more than a concern.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!?”

The parasol did not lift, and the woman’s eyes remained fixed on the ground as she approached. “... The only thing I do well.”

Yuuka threw her own parasol at the woman, only to have it reappear in her hand moments later. “What the hell is that supposed to mean, you crazy woman!?”

“...” Once she arrives in front of Yuuka, only then did her parasol rise to reveal sullen eyes where Yukari’s smug look had always been. “You and I… Here and there… Between everything, there is a boundary.”

“The hell are you on about!?”

“I know those boundaries. I know them well. But try as I may, there have always been boundaries that even I cannot remove.” Yukari took another step, her foot sending a wave of rot to all the plants around it. “There exists a boundary between life and death. I can manipulate that boundary-- I can delay death or accelerate it-- but I cannot remove it entirely.” She stepped forwards once more, making eye contact with Yuuka. “No matter how powerful I am, I could not save my friends.”

“Hah! Serves them right!” Was her first response. She then turned her attention back to the field. “If you’re just here to complain, then I’ve got better things to do!” Yuuka turned and walked away from the crazy woman in hopes that she would just leave. After a few seconds, however, a strange feeling came over her. It was like the rush of power she had felt yesterday, but in reverse.

“What the—?” She suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion as all of that power began to flow out of her body. “No! Wait!” She shouted at nothing as the power evaporated. With it, went all of those young flowers who just today had life breathed into them through that power. Suddenly, everything she had worked so hard to accumulate had gone away, and she was left no better than she was that day she killed her own mother. “No…! Damn it!” she fell to the ground.

“Do not misunderstand me, I may be near the end myself, but my power is very much real.” Yukari walked up to where Yuuka lay and reached out a hand. “And so, too, is yours.”

Yuuka swatted the hand away. “What are you doing here!? Why are you doing this!?”

“Please, spare the anger.” Yukari looked visibly hurt, a sight that forced Yuuka to stop and stare. “There’s no use in lashing out now… it’s too late.” She, too, fell to her knees, barely having the strength to stand up. “I have seen your growth. You may be young, but you have... more potential than almost anyone I’ve ever met. I.... entrust my hope to you. Unfortunately, however… this must be the end.”

“Hold on.” Slowly, Yuuka clamored to her feet, now standing above the older youkai. “What exactly do you mean? Hope? End?”

“Can’t you tell?” Yukari said. “I’m dying. You’re dying. The whole world is dying.” In her kneeling position, her head was pointed towards the ground rather than towards Yuuka. “It won’t be long before  _ youkai _ are gone from the world entirely.”

“And what does that have to do with you trashing my--!”

“I was resigned to my fate, but your appearance changed that…  _ You _ changed that.” Yukari lifted her head slowly, to address Yuuka directly. “We don’t have much time left… but it looks like you’re doing better than ever…”

“But… if you’re in that shape…”

“I could have used my power to extend my life, but instead I have… wasted it all, trying to save everyone else… As you can see, I don’t have much left.”

“Tch, how pitiful.” Yuuka spat. “Unlike you, I’ve still got people who believe in me in this town. What makes you think I’m going to take care of you, especially now that you’ve become so… useless? I told you, survival of the fittest is how I live. Why should I care if you die?”

“Not just me. All of us, you included.” Yukari responded. “The people may believe in you now, but that won’t last even to the end of the month. Not in the modern world. No, there will be no survival of the fittest this time… there will be no survival at all. Not for you or your plants.”

“Bullshit!” Yuuka delivered a parasol swing right into Yukari’s chest, sending the older youkai to the ground. “I am strong! If people forget about me then I’ll just  _ make _ them remember! If you want to give up on life so much, then get out of my sight!”

“It’s… not… bullshit.” Yukari slowly tried to prop herself up with one arm. “I didn’t come here just to tell you you’re going to die. I came here to give you a chance to make things right.”

“What sort of nonsense are you babbling now? Did I hit you too hard? This isn’t some silly fairy tale where a bit of last-minute magic can fix everything.”

“But, for you and I… it is.” Yukari said. “I never told you why I, out of all the youkai, am the one who survived.” That got Yuuka to stop her heckling. “You see, I, Yakumo Yukari, am the youkai of boundaries and barriers… while humans may have long ago forgot their fears of darkness, or of rampaging _oni_ , there has always been one thing they’ve feared: their own limits. But time marches on, and soon those limits themselves will cease to exist. … Don’t give me that look. I have seen this future for myself, after all. The world will go on, but… my day has come, I will soon go the way of my friends…”

“You sure talk a lot for a woman on death’s door…” Yuuka shook her head. “And? What is this about a chance?”

“The moment I first saw you, I thought you would be the one to save our kind, too late to make a difference, but…” Yukari summoned all her strength to get up onto one knee. It was a slow and painful process, but she somehow managed it. “I don’t know what you represent… I had thought it had something to do with climate change, but now…” She let out a pained grunt as power continually left her. “Now… that doesn’t matter. all I know is that you can do those things the rest of us couldn’t…”

Yuuka yelped as she felt the ground fall out beneath her. She used her arms to keep her from falling all the way into the gap that appeared below her feet.

“This is the last of my power…” Yukari fell onto her face. “Go, traverse the barrier between past and present… and bring your blessing to the world… before it all began.”

Yuuka opened her mouth to argue, but found it useless, as her world had already become a cocoon of black as she fell deeper and deeper into the gap.

Only one more thing reached her ears as the connection to the real world sealed up. “Farewell, Kazami Yuuka… may we one day meet again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the first time I've significantly modified this story from the version I posted on fanfiction. I believe it works better with a more character-driven resolution, although I'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and I hope to see you soon in Book 3: Wildflowers!


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